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D3 Publisher Addresses Namco Bandai Takeover

Rob Crossley's picture

By Rob Crossley

March 18, 2009

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D3 Publisher has issued a statement regarding its acquisition from Namco Bandai Games.

Though earlier reports confirmed that Namco Bandai had purchased a 95 percent stake in the firm, D3 Publisher states that plans are afoot for a full 100 percent buyout. It means that Namco Bandai Games will soon control the publisher’s American and European offices, as well as its development studio, Vicious Cycle.

When asked if any jobs will be affected from the acquisition, a spokesperson for D3 Publisher was unable to provide further information, though the statement did make the ambiguous claim that its operations “will remain unchanged at this time.”

“Development of our current and unannounced titles is ongoing and will move forward as planned,” the statement read.

Headquartered in Japan, D3 Publisher has offices in Cambridge, UK, as well as in Los Angeles. The firm was the North American publisher of Digital Extremes’ Dark Sector and the recently-released Coraline.

“D3 Publisher is thrilled to join forces with Bandai Namco Games to further strengthen their position in the US and European marketplaces and continue to make quality games that gamers will enjoy."

Pictured: Earth Defence Force 2017

GeeLW's picture
On March 18th GeeLW said:

Hmmmm.... not sure how I feel about this, but let's make the best of it. To wit: Now, if this had taken place a few years back (i.e. while the PS2 was still shakin' as the top console), perhaps we'd see more of D3's bugdet-priced Simple 2000 lineup hit US stores. As it is, I'm hoping Nam/Ban/D3 continues to push some of the more oddball "niche" imports into retail here while keeping a reasonable price point as a focal point.

Big budget games are fun, but few blockbusters beat EDF 2017 for purely insane bug & 'bot blasting action. Grab a copy, grab a friend and see for yourself if you haven't tried it yet!

Anyway, one other area that should get a benefit, hopefully - Namco/Bandai games are known for their lovely full-colour manuals, so I'm hoping this ends up a part of any D3 titles that ship. I'm also wondering if future D3 titles will show up under the Surge name (N/B's new line, under which Afro Samurai was published).

g.